


Simmer Down, And Pucker Up

by CalamityK



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: 5 Times, Angst, Because yes, Blade of Marmora Keith (Voltron), Confusion, Emotions, Falling In Love, Falling In Love On Accident, Fluff, Forehead Kisses, Idiots in Love, Injury, Keitor, Kissing, Lotor is bae, M/M, Nicknames, Poor Keith doesn't know what to do with Lotor, Teasing, Unresolved Emotional Tension, i write this now?, seriously so much fluff, uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh yeah
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-19
Updated: 2018-04-19
Packaged: 2019-04-24 23:43:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14366271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CalamityK/pseuds/CalamityK
Summary: Fate, it seems, is determined to keep putting Lotor directly in Keith’s path, and as with every other aspect of Keith’s life, fate has terrible timing.------------------Or that sort of 5+1 where Lotor is magnetic, and Keith finds out just how much.





	Simmer Down, And Pucker Up

**Author's Note:**

> WOW. I never thought the first voltron fic I'd ever officially write would be this pairing, but here we are
> 
> This is my piece in the 2018 Voltron Ship Exchange for @obacchus. _This isn’t the original fic I intended to write for you dear giftee_ , but since my original didn’t want to stay under 10k and be finished I felt it was only fair I write something else, draw you some art for it AND make you a playlist to make up for it.
> 
>  
> 
> [ART AND PLAYLIST FOUND HERE](http://kingotabek.tumblr.com/post/173089896267/simmer-down-and-pucker-up-t-38k)
> 
>  
> 
> So many wonderful betas read over this. Megan, Anna, Leap, you're all the best. Ronnie you're the real mvp, and a special thanks to Michaela. Who literally is the reason this fic actually got finished. Her encouraging words of (direct quote) “GET UR SHIT TOGETHER.  
> YOURE A GODDAMN MESS” really kicked my ass when it needed to be. ♥

Lotor is magnetic in the most confusing of ways, and Keith finds this out in increments of _kissing_.

The first one is a joke. A well timed reaction on Lotor’s part more than anything, and Keith is just the innocent victim.

He’s just found out Lotor is on their side, and he’s not so sure that he believes the large and pompous former Prince is suddenly fighting for the good of the universe after being a thorn in their side for so long. Lance, at least, seems to agree with Keith’s protests that the purple half-breed leader of the Galran empire simply _can’t_ have pure intentions.

The arguing starts almost as soon as Keith walks into the castle and sees Lotor among the paladins, among his _friends._ Shiro and Allura both try to keep everyone settled, but Keith closes in on Lotor the first chance he gets, spitting his concerns directly in the face of their subject, who—to his credit— accepts them silently.  Then Lance does what Lance does best: yells out something stupid under the guise of having Keith’s back.

“If we’re going to start calling Lotor a good guy, then Keith needs to be crowned and we can start calling him Princess instead of Allura! It’s the same concept!”

Lotor just smirks, the first reaction to cross his features since the chaos began, and Keith realizes the mistake of getting too close when Lotor reaches out and grips his left hand.

“Since I truly am one of the ‘good guys’,” Lotor drawls, with the kind of unnerving calm that digs barbs under Keith’s skin, “then I guess that should be arranged.”

Before Keith can jerk away, Lotor raises the captured hand to his lips barely resting the bare skin of Keith’s fingers against his mouth before dropping them.

“Princess does have a nice ring to it.” Lotor says, and Keith wants to smack the words back into his mouth, but he closes his tingling fingers into a fist as Lotor leans closer and lowers his voice. Finalizing his statement at an octave only they can hear. “Though I personally think you’re suited to a stronger title. _Empress_ perhaps.”

So begins the strange flutter of Keith’s heart that he blames on blinding rage as he turns and storms away before anyone can notice the unwelcome heat rising to his cheeks.

»»-------------✮-------------««

The second time Keith is subjected to the pressure of Lotor’s presence, he can’t escape. He’s lined up with the Blades in an official ceremony for the welcoming of allies.

Lotor stands before them, swearing words that Keith has heard before, several times over in fact, since Lotor and Voltron began working hand in hand. Words that Lotor repeats every time Keith calls him into question, and it’s almost to the point that some part of Keith believes them.

But something inside him is still boiling as Lotor greets each member of the Blade by walking down the line and clasping their hands individually, swearing to each one that the new regime he leads will only act in the best interest of the universe, swearing that no more planets will be destroyed for the sake of his rule.

When he gets to the end of the line, to Keith, he smiles. It’s regal and full of teeth, and every hair on Keith’s body stands up when their hands clasp.

He waits, biting his tongue, for Lotor to repeat the same sentiment given to the others.

He doesn’t expect Lotor to loom closer, press his lips directly to his ear and whisper.

“I hope this allegiance suits your standards, since you always seem to disapprove of me the most.” There’s a pause, and the lips wander back to press lightly against his cheek causing Keith to release a startled gasp, as Lotor breathes, “Or perhaps I just need to try harder to change your mind specifically, _Empress_.”

Then he leans back and steps away, stoic persona set firmly back in place as though he hadn’t just stepped out of line, and Keith is forced to watch the rest of the ceremony in silence as though his heart isn’t racing and unidentifiable emotions aren’t suddenly grinding through his chest.

»»-------------✮-------------««

The third time their interactions overwhelm him, Keith thinks he’s accepted the fact that he has no explanation for the emotional whiplash Lotor seems to give him, and that there’s no way to avoid it when Lotor keeps showing up when Keith least expects it.

He’s on a mission for the Blade, and it’s going downhill at breakneck speed. The same breakneck speed at which he’s weaving his borrowed gunner-ship in and out of enemy fire. He’s outnumbered fifteen to one, and between the shallow wound on his chest and the damage done to his hull during his initial escape, Keith’s not flying at one hundred percent.

Every second it feels as though his ship is slowing, and each laser-sharp shot that manages to connect feels like an earthquake. He’s pretty sure he’s a goner, ship doomed to stall out or be blasted into nothing, when the sounds of fire increase ten-fold.

He braces for the end, for all of it to hit at once, he even shuts his eyes against the imminent blast, but nothing explodes. Instead it seems as though all sounds of fire grind to a halt.

It takes him several moments before he re-opens his eyes, and several more deep breaths before he has the courage to peer out the fish-eye window of the gunner and see that another ship has entered the battlefield. Its large and looming, and way too close for comfort, but the fact that the enemy ships have been blasted to little more than lingering debris between them, points to it being an ally.

He barely has to wonder who is at its helm before Lotor’s face fizzles through the half-busted screen of his video-comm. The usual vibrant lavender of his skin is faded to an ashen gray on the broken monitor, but his smirk— a smirk growing increasingly familiar to Keith— is clearly in place.

“ _Lotor_.” Keith greets, too shaken to put his usual venom behind it. His anxiety must still be visible, because something like concern sparks behind Lotor’s eyes before he speaks; though the smirk doesn’t change.

“Unfortunately, time is of the essence and I can’t stay long and chat.” Lotor’s voice crackles, but the words are clear enough. “Just wanted to see that you’re still in one piece, _Empress_. You can thank me properly later.”

He signs off with a wink and the exaggerated motion of blowing a kiss before Keith can even gather a reply.

His chest wound suddenly throbs, as though the kiss lands right against it.

»»-------------✮-------------««

Fate, it seems, is determined to keep putting Lotor directly in Keith’s path, and as with every other aspect of Keith’s life, fate has terrible timing.

The fourth time they’re thrust together is no exception. He supposes he should be grateful that Lotor has saved his life – _twice now,_ he reminds himself _—_ but the confusion of emotions is only made worse by their current situation.

The Galran Emperor is laid out on a transport table, and Keith is stationed as his guard. He’d volunteered actually, to watch over Lotor’s unconscious form until the Blade can get him to a medi-pod. It feels like the least he can do, since Lotor’s wound was meant for his own shoulders.

Images of the blade coming toward him flash fresh through his mind. The attack had been sudden, unexpected; another diplomatic meeting gone wrong. The Blades were simply there as escort, and of course the enemies had aimed at the ‘guards’ first. They had probably hoped to take Lotor alive; use him as some kind of leverage in whatever domination plan they had hatched out. They obviously hadn’t expected him to fight with his men, and definitely weren’t prepared for him to take a blade for one of them.

Keith wasn’t prepared for it either, but the split-second of shock— the resulting pause in the assault— as Lotor hit the ground in front of him is what gave the Blade the upper hand; the only reason they made it out, and the only reason Keith is even _alive_. He has to shake the thought away again, shifting his weight from one foot to the other as he looks down at Lotor once more.

 _It’s odd_ , Keith thinks, to see him like this. Without the well placed mask of a Prince— of a leader—Lotor almost looks _ethereal_. Keith isn’t blind. He knows that the sharp angled face, and alien array of expressions Lotor normally displays can be considered attractive, but with his features relaxed it’s different and Keith takes the opportunity to truly analyze.

There’s no blazing indigo eyes or taunting smirks to grate against Keith’s nerves, no teasing words whispered at him to knock him off balance. Keith can’t help the itch under his skin as he silently observes the delicate planes of Lotor’s face.

The confusion of their previous encounters rushes back, mixing with new emotions Keith can’t quite flesh out names for, and he can’t stop his fingers from edging along the smooth line of Lotor’s jaw. He half expects him to stir, but he doesn’t, and it only encourages Keith to give in further to that strange magnetic pull he’s felt since Lotor’s lips first brushed his fingers.

 _My turn_ , he thinks, as he leans down, inch by inch, until his lips are barely touching Lotor’s forehead. It's light, just enough to test what it feels like to be the one doing the kissing, and Lotor will never have to know.

Except, when Keith pulls back Lotor’s eyes are open. Fever glazed and narrow, but staring right at him with something so intense it’s almost tangible. Keith’s immediate instinct is to bolt, to run away and pray Lotor is too delirious to remember this instant, but Lotor grips his wrist with a weak hand, as his eyes slip back shut.

“ _Empress_.” Lotor’s voice is small; cracked and barely there right as he falls back unconscious, but Keith hears. “ _Don’t leave me_.”

So Keith stays, pulse racing behind his ears, and voice screaming in the back of his mind that this thing, _whatever it is between them_ , just got a lot more complicated.

»»-------------✮-------------««

By the fifth time, they’ve begun tiptoeing around one another with a tension that Keith thinks ‘complicated’ isn’t a complex enough term to describe.

Kolivan is the first to notice, or at least the first to vocalize his concerns on the weird dynamic that Lotor has displayed toward Keith publicly. He makes a pointed comment over dinner one night that’s enough to have Keith thanking his lucky stars that he’s not been around Voltron enough for any of the paladins to pick up on whatever turmoil is brewing inside his chest.

He tries to avoid Lotor after that—avoid the ache he’s finally putting a name to— and he manages well enough. Their interactions become limited to lingering gazes across crowded meeting halls and through the monitors of ships.

But of course it doesn’t last, and fate’s bad timing catches up with them once more when Keith decides to visit the castle unannounced.

The argument he walks in on is eerily similar to one he’d started himself back when he first found out Lotor was on their side; everyone yelling as Lotor stands stone faced in the center of chaos. Only this time it's Lance in his face instead of Keith, screaming so heatedly that something heavy turns over in Keith’s stomach.

It’s his sudden question that shuts everyone up, yelled at the loudest octave he can manage in order to cut through.

“What the hell is going on!?”

Seven sets of eyes turn on him, but Coran is the only one calm enough to answer.

“There’s been a kidnapping.” He says, stepping away from the teleporter he’d apparently been activating off to the side. “One of the allied rebellion leaders.”

 _“Kidnapping_?” Keith doesn’t have time to process that information, or ask further questions because Lance is the first to start yelling again.

“Yeah! And thank god you’re here, because now maybe someone will agree that this giant purple slime-ball,” he jabs his pointer finger at Lotor’s face, “had something to do with it. Otherwise he wouldn’t come in here and offer up himself for what looks like a _suicide mission_ on our end almost as soon as the news reaches our comms!”

And that part Keith does absorb, the words ‘suicide mission’ kicking around his head immediately and causing him to step forward, toward Lotor more than anyone else.

“ _What?!”_ He exclaims, and Lance visibly makes to continue his argument, but Keith holds up a hand to shut him up and faces Allura pointedly. “Explain. Preferably the condensed version.”

Allura just nods. “One of our allies was taken from a small hold by what appeared to be Galran freight-ships. The distress signal that came through on my monitors came from her father, and he believes she was taken because she knows how to directly access a large store of quintessence. We tried to devise a plan to recover her, but it appears the ships have entered a cloaked area that we estimate to be heavily guarded. And it’s a huge risk to have Voltron fly into what could be a trap at high visibility since we can’t see where we’re going.”

Keith is silent, turning the information over in the same part of his brain he uses to analyze any mission, and planning his next question carefully.

“And where do you come in?” Keith asks, meeting Lotor’s eyes fully for the first time.

“Believe it or _not_ ,” Lotor flicks his gaze at Lance heatedly, “I received the same distress signal and information. I came straight to the castle to offer myself up for the recovery mission. It’s much less dangerous for one person to enter the cloaked quadrant, and,” he pauses to press his lips together like his next words taste bitter on his tongue, “since some of my ships are quintessence freights I have a better chance of slipping in unnoticed. It’s dangerous either way, but I think _I_ am the only one with a chance of survival.”

Lance scoffs, obviously unable to contain his accusations any longer. “More like, he orchestrated this somehow to get both the quintessence and cement his hero status even further!”

Just like that everyone is yelling again, Pidge and Hunk in agreement with Lance, Coran in statistical gibberish, and Shiro and Allura trying to counter everyone with enough reason to settle them down.

It leaves Keith and Lotor in the middle, passing information with only their eyes, or at least Keith feels like something is passing between them, something they’ve _both_ been avoiding. All their previous encounters, small as they were, lead up to this, and he realizes. He no longer has any doubt that Lotor is one of the quote-unquote ‘good guys’, and he knows Lotor is sacrificing himself now as some final show to _prove it_.

Except Keith can’t let that happen, not after Lotor’s already saved his life twice, and not after he thinks he’s finally figured out that complicated emotion that never seems to stop swirling in his chest.

So it’s once again his voice that makes everyone stop.

“You can’t go.” Keith says it loud and he says it firm, moving so close to Lotor that Lance has to step aside, and they’re almost nose to nose. “I’ll go, or someone from the Blades will go, but not you.” Then he turns his head and looks at Allura and Shiro together. “Let me talk to Kolivan.”

“Why?” It’s Shiro who asks, and Keith knows he doesn’t mean ‘why not him?’ he means ‘why you in his place’ and he can probably see the answer written all over Keith’s face.

Keith counters anyway, “Why not? If it's safe for one person it doesn’t _need_ to be Lotor, right?”

Allura clears her throat. “I’ve already approved Lotor for the mission,” and she hesitates, eyes softening, letting him know she sees right through his protests on a level that should disturb him, “if nothing else it may prove his innocence in the situation.”

“Unapprove it.” He practically shouts, the swirl in his chest unraveling, “If he dies just to prove to the rest of you what he’s already proved to both me _and_ the Blades you’ll have worse problems on your hands than a kidnapping.”

He feels Lotor reach out and touch his cheek then, a calming gesture as Keith’s words settle among those in the room, and that complex tension crackling between them snaps, as Lotor forces him to meet his unwavering gaze. Keith barely has a moment to breathe before Lotor’s mouth is covering his in a kiss.

A _real one_ , that’s quick, gentle, but sets every conflicted nerve in Keith’s body alight, and he has to raise his own hand to Lotor’s neck to grip and stay upright. He hears more than one gasp of shock from the rest of the Paladins, but it's nothing compared to the stutter of his own heart as Lotor pulls away.

There’s no smirk on Lotor’s face, and no teasing in his eyes, and Keith knows that unlike all the other’s this kiss was truly meant to convey a message; _a blind_ _hope_. Lotor’s voice is just as serious when he finally speaks.

“I’ll come back, _Keith_.” He says, dropping his hand slowly from Keith’s cheek. “Specifically for you if I have to.”

He steps away while Keith is still too stunned to react. Hearing his name pass Lotor’s lips in place of the usual ‘ _Empress_ ’ short circuits Keith’s thoughts long enough for Lotor to reach the activated teleporter unhindered. Only after Lotor has stepped through it, and blipped out of existence, does Keith’s brain jumpstart enough to register that he’s standing among his confused friends with tears on his cheeks.

»»-------------✮-------------««

Shiro only tries once to corner him about it, Allura offers nothing but updates and awkward smiles, and the others barely speak to him at all. Not that he’d have good answers for them if they did. He barely knows what’s going on other than the fact that there’s _something,_ unexplained and unplanned, between Lotor and himself. It's a thing that needs to be discussed and hammered out when—if— Lotor returns.

To make matters worse Keith has no _distractions_. Kolivan ordered him to stay in the castle as soon as he got wind of the situation. This means Keith gets to sit in his old room pretending that it doesn’t bother him that they can’t even make contact with Lotor, and will only know if the mission succeeds by reports of the rebel leader being returned to her hold. It also means Keith is left mostly alone with his own thoughts for however many days the mission will take.

He’s sitting on his bed halfway through day three, talking himself down from the growing urge to activate the teleporter and sneak onto the mission himself, when the lock on his door beeps to let him know someone is trying to enter.

He stands up, hesitating a bit before he opens it just in case its Shiro again, but some instinct within him is yelling that it isn’t. There’s still a split-second moment of shock when the metal slides back to reveal Lotor on the other side. Keith doesn’t flinch or freeze, but his eyes feel wider than normal as he surveys the man before him.

He looks… worn, small scrapes and cuts littering his face and hands, and his armor—the only thing Keith’s ever truly seen him in— has been stripped down to just a spandex-like undershell that stretches thin across his broad chest. It’s a hard contrast to the last time Keith saw him after a battle, and he wonders how someone can look more regal with a gaping chest wound than with a few bruises.

Lotor smiles like he knows exactly what Keith is thinking.

“It’s truly miraculous, you know,” Lotor says quietly, stepping inside and letting the door shut back behind him, “the things one can survive if they feel they have a good enough reason. Even so called ‘suicide missions.’”

For three days Keith has really wanted to yell. He plans to actually, but there’s something equally as urgent he needs to do first.

Lotor catches Keith’s fist as it comes flying toward his face with all the grace Keith expects from the leader of an empire, but he doesn’t quite manage to dodge the blow aimed at his ribs. The surprised ‘oof’ he releases sounds very satisfying as Keith steps back and points a finger in the center of Lotor’s chest.

“ _What_. _The_. _Fuck._ Is wrong with you?!” Keith punctuates each word with a jab, and Lotor flinches with each one. “Do you even care how badly you’ve messed with my head the past few months? Then you do _that_...you literally kissed me and _jumped through a teleporter_. We’ve never even had a real conversation and you think you can just _do_ _that_?! I don’t really know what’s going on here--with us--but you better explain and you better explain fast.”

“I..” Lotor begins, but immediately pauses, looking as uncertain as Keith has feels. “I don’t know.”

Slowly, cautiously, he brings his hand to the finger Keith still has against his chest, and gently he begins to uncurl Keith’s other fingers and lace them with his own. “From a young age I was taught that I can claim the things I want with little to no consequences, and I think, perhaps, that’s what I’ve been trying to do with you. At least after the allying ceremony. I was drawn to you, the odd one out—another half-breed—standing in a line of Galra like he belonged. I sort of decided then that there would be more to my teasing you, and I never considered how it would seem from your perspective. For that I apologize.”

A blush rises to Keith’s cheeks, but he’s still angry. “You understand how insane that sounds, don’t you?”

Lotor smirks.

“Almost as insane as kissing an unconscious man on the forehead and then trying to run away.” He says, voice still quiet and full of amusement. “You didn’t seem quite so confused then, _Empress_.”

The heat in Keith’s cheeks rushes full force, and the swirl in his chest becomes a pressure. “You still haven’t answered my question. What is this?”

Lotor uses their entwined hands to pull Keith closer, leaning down until their breath mingles and Keith can feel his reply on the tip of his nose. “What do you want it to be?”

Keith doesn’t answer, not audibly, but he doesn’t resist when Lotor closes the space between their mouths. It’s not gentle this time, but it’s not desperate either; falling somewhere in between with just enough feeling to make Keith’s lungs burn. It doesn’t progress, but it doesn’t stop, simply sustains until the need for air overtakes them.

“I still don’t know.” Keith whispers as they break apart, the emotion in his chest finally breaking free. “But I guess we can find out.”

**Author's Note:**

> As always, you can find me at [Kingotabek](http://kingotabek.tumblr.com)
> 
> I still take drabble requests, and I thrive on feedback, compliments, and basically any interaction a trashcan can get.
> 
>  
> 
> [ONCE AGAIN, ART AND PLAYLIST FOR THIS FIC IS FOUND HERE](http://kingotabek.tumblr.com/post/173089896267/simmer-down-and-pucker-up-t-38k)


End file.
